1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to a method of simultaneously analyzing an amount of a nutritional component in various foods having different ingredients and forms, that is, different physicochemical properties and compositions by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
2. Background Art
Food contains various nutrients, for example, a carbohydrate, a protein, a fat, a vitamin, a mineral, or the like, which are necessarily used to grow, develop, and maintain living organisms. From among these, the basic and important nutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, which are called the three major nutrients. These components produce energy for maintaining the life and activities of the human beings. Currently, quantitative analysis for carbohydrates, proteins, and fats contained in food is performed by using various analytical methods that vary depending on a component. Carbohydrates are analyzed by gas chromatography mass analysis (GC/MS) or AOAC used to measure carbohydrate content after subtraction; proteins are analyzed by Bradford color-comparison method or Kjeldahl test method; and fats are analyzed by Soxhlet method.
These various analytical methods specified for individual components have long been used, and provide relatively accurate results. However, they require complicated extraction and pre-treatment processes, a long analysis time, a person who is skilled in such analysis, and high analysis costs.
However, near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) may allow component analysis to be rapidly performed without the pre-treatment of a sample, and even after the analysis, the sample is intact without being damaged. Accordingly, the sample can be further used for other analysis. As an existing NIRS technology associated with a carbohydrate content, a protein content, and a fat content, there are rice amylase-content analysis, rice starch-content analysis, wheat-carbohydrate or protein analysis, pea-protein content analysis, perilla and peanut-protein content analysis, rice and brown rice-protein analysis, Jatropha seeds-protein and fat analysis, soybean-protein and fat analysis, potato chip-fat analysis, etc.
However, a near-infrared absorption spectrum has lower absorption intensity than an infrared absorption spectrum, absorptions may overlap due to several over tones or combination bands, and a particular absorption region due to a hydrogen bond or an intermolecular interaction may be shifted. Accordingly, it is difficult to interpret an absorption spectrum. Up until now, there are only methods of quantitatively analyzing components included in a single type of foods having an identical form, that is, an identical matrix having the same physicochemical property and composition or a particular food group that includes an identical material as a major component and an identical form.
Korean Patent No. 10-1000889 discloses a method of predicting protein contents of brown and milled rice by using wet-paddy rice, and Korean Patent No. 10-1181315 discloses a method of simultaneously measuring caffeine content and individual catechins contents in green tea leaves. However, as disclosed in the present application, a method of simultaneously analyzing an amount of a nutritional component contained in various foods having different physicochemical properties and compositions by NIRS has not been disclosed.